


Redwood Seedlings Prefer Full Sunlight

by polka_stripes



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Banter, F/F, Firefighter Louis Tomlinson, Girl Direction, SO, Writer Harry, anyway this is silly an short and fun and just something i wanted to put out there, but it is a bit of banter, i am loathe to tag this, lots of very bad sexual innuendo, post-wildfire, serious discussion about birthstones, so go read, why does the firefighter louis tag have his full name that is so strange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 18:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13619115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polka_stripes/pseuds/polka_stripes
Summary: Louis visits her family home in the redwoods after a wildfire came through and finds more than the forest floor is left exposed.





	Redwood Seedlings Prefer Full Sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to my betas/cheerleaders, my friends & pals etc etc, my apologies to the fire department that thought it was a good idea to let me out on the line & to the people who own this property. there is truly no situation i cannot turn into a larry au, it turns out.

Louis zipped up her sweatshirt as she put her coffee cup on the balcony ledge and turned to shut the sliding door. Fuck, she had forgotten how chilly fall mornings could get up here. She pulled out her cigarettes, lighter, and a coaster she was pretty sure was supposed to be used for tea bags, but here sufficed as a makeshift ashtray, from the pocket of her sweatpants. 

She lit a cigarette and closed her eyes as she took a few drags, letting the silence of the forested valley sink into her bones. She tucked her feet up, thighs to her chest, and reached for her coffee. Taking a sip, she opened her eyes to let them wander around the woods. She looked at the forest floor, previously covered with layers of pine needles and smaller shrubs, now cleared by the fire. Her eyes were drawn up the redwoods, tall and strong, heavy green branches bowing towards the earth. 

Louis sighed, feeling the stress of the last month of firefighting slowly seeping out, leaving her boneless in her chair. She lifted her cigarette back to her mouth sluggishly, moving as if the force of gravity on earth had sudden become stronger, weighing her down. Her eyes moved up the slope behind the house, towards the tiny in-law unit perched on the slope. She had joked with Lottie on the drive up about the current renter, a Fancy San Francisco Writer probably looking for some cliche inspiration in the redwood forest. 

A Fancy San Francisco Writer who was currently naked on the balcony, showering. 

Louis yelped and jumped out of her seat, spilling coffee everywhere. Oh shit. She had forgotten about the shower situation at the rental unit. She was in middle school when they were building it, but she remembered there was some issue with the plumbing and the size of the “house,” such that it was, and the only solution was to put the shower outside - like a beach house, but colder. There had been enough small understory trees and bushes to keep the rental house and the shower private, but after the fire apparently all was laid bare. _All._

She was shaking drops of coffee off her sweatshirt as best she could when she heard another yelp, this one coming down the hill. So Fancy San Francisco Writer had discovered their visibility problem, it seemed. 

Louis made the mistake of looking up at the rental, catching San Francisco as she rinsed her hair and turned the water off, grabbing her towel as she hurriedly opened the glass door and slid inside. Louis’ breath caught in her throat - this woman was gorgeous. She was unsure what kind of exercise was popular with writers from San Francisco looking for woodsy winter retreats, but whatever San Francisco was doing, it was working for her. As San Francisco ran across the balcony to the door, her long, wet, wavy brown hair flew behind her and Louis caught a glimpse of an angular jaw, pink lips in a pout, and dusky nipples pert with the chill. 

Louis stood stock still, staring up at the now-empty balcony. 

“Oh no,” she said out loud. “Oh, oh no.” 

\--

Louis just closed the dishwasher as she heard someone knocking. She made her way to the front door, wiping her hands on her thighs, wondering which of the neighbors might be stopping by. Someone must have seen her pickup in the driveway and wanted to catch up. There was a lot of news to share since the fire, and Louis had no doubt some of the nosier people on the street wanted a chance to scope out how their home had fared.

She was surprised, then, to open the door and see San Francisco in front of her. “Oh - I - hi?,” she stuttered in inarticulate greeting. 

“Hi,” the writer smiled at her, holding a covered tupperware. Louis had gotten quite the view earlier this morning, but San Francisco’s body still held some surprises, like green eyes that came alive reflecting the trees around them and dimples magnifying the impact of her wide smile. 

“Do you, uh, need something? Is the place okay?” Louis had really no idea what she’d do if it wasn’t; the rental was most popular in summer when she was always away with the fire crew, and she really didn’t know what her mom offered vacationers. 

“Oh no, no everything’s fine! It’s great, actually. I can’t wait to see everything with the snow! It must be gorgeous up here. I’m Harry, by the way.” 

“Louis.” She holds out a hand to shake Harry’s, but pulls it back when she realizes Harry is still holding the tupperware. She gestures vaguely instead.

“Did you bring chains with you?”

“Okay, you’re straight to the point, but no, there’s cookies in here.” Harry lifted up the tupperware to indicate. “I can bring those later though?”

“I meant chains for your car.” 

Harry hummed. “You know, I’ve tried that, and car sex is always kind of claustrophobic to begin with, and being tied up really just makes it worse. I almost ended up with a panic attack once. Unless you mean _you_ want to be tied up in the car? I could probably work with that.” 

While Louis appreciated the vast amounts of surprising information she was learning from Harry, she also needed to get this conversation back on a less sexual track. She cleared her throat. “That’s good to know, about the panic attack, wouldn’t want that, but I meant for your tires? For traction in the snow?”

“D’ya think it’ll be bad this year? How soon does it start snowing? I haven’t bought chains yet and Citrine’s been good to me but I haven’t tested her out much in snow, just a few trips to Tahoe when the weather’s been clear.”

 _If Harry’s rambling is any indication,_ Louis thought, _she’ll have her book done in no time._

“Citrine?” Louis finally interrupted.

“Oh, yeah, my car?” Louis looked over at the bright red Prius, unmoved from when she arrived yesterday. She looked back at Harry. 

“You know citrine is like, a yellow color, right?” 

“Oh yeah, but like, amethyst is my birthstone? And a citrine is a variation of quartz similar to amethyst, and amethyst would be a weird name for a car, but citrine sounded cool. And yeah I know, like, citrine is November’s birthstone, but I still feel connected to it, I dunno.” 

“I see.” Louis did not see.

“Anyway, yeah, so uh, this is awkward, but,” Harry looked down, scratching beneath her high bun and pulling out wisps of curly hair as she took her hand away. She made eye contact with Louis and extended the tupperware.

“I baked some cookies - sorry about earlier? With the shower? Dan didn’t say anything about anyone being at the house, so I didn’t think, anyway, I’ll pick up a shower curtain in Ukiah tomorrow, do you think Dan has any preferences? I’ll try to get one that matches the apartment, I love the modern aesthetic, but I’m not sure what the Walmart will have? Would you rather I wait until I can make a trip to Santa Rosa? They probably have a Bed, Bath and - ”

Louis had to stop her. “It’s fine.” It was more than fine. “Really. It’s okay, that shower’s been open like that for ages, usually there’s a lot more trees and bushes and stuff for privacy.” 

Harry laughed with a small snort. “Sorry.” She giggled again and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. “Bushes.”

Louis raised an eyebrow. She could not believe Harry had so far turned every nearly topic they discussed into innuendo, but she also wasn’t going to make her stop. “Bushes a thing for you?” 

“Yeah, I mean, Kate Bush is great, George Bush I guess not so much, but Barbara’s cute - I mean, the twin, not his mom, weird, but I don’t know, maybe Barbara Bush the older was cute when she was young? I haven’t seen pictures.”

Louis had been leaning one arm against the doorframe, her other hand on her hip, smiling at Harry with a small laugh. _Fuck it,_ she decided, let’s lean in and see where this takes us. She ran a hand through her short hair, trying to draw attention to her body while simultaneously taming whatever sleep-mussed mess was still up there. 

“You know, Barbara’s not the only blue eyed brunette with a bush who voted for Hillary.” 

Harry’s eyes widened as she smirked. “Oh really? Someone else you know? How do I meet them?” 

Louis languidly moved her body away from the door frame and started turning inside the house, letting her left hand trail sensually (she hoped) down the wood. 

“Bring those cookies inside and I’ll see if I can set up an introduction.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for taking this ridiculous journey with me! tumblr post [here](http://polkadotsvstripes.tumblr.com/post/171864201310/redwood-seedlings-prefer-full-sunlight-by) if you are so inclined.


End file.
